Head Over Heart
by Joss And The Arc
Summary: Summary: What if Toph wasn't the first Earthbender to Metalbend? Aubi (Oh-bee) was still dealing with the loss of her parents when she meets a Firebending prince who is very interested in her special ability.


**Chapter 1**

Aubi had been staring at the same rock on the ground for the past two hours. She wasn't really focusing, only spacing out, trying not to cry. She'd lost her parents to the Fire Nation only three weeks ago, and now she was all alone. Well, she had Moro, but he was fighting on the front lines for the Earth Kingdom.

Her teeth clenched, as did her fist, and the rock in question exploded into a finite powder. For such a petite girl, she was awfully strong. Deciding to go for a walk to the beach, she set off down the sandy path.

Eli, Aubi's uncle, had taken her and Moro in after their parents died. But not even a week later, Moro announced that he was being sent to the front lines to fight the Fire Nation. Aubi had begged him not to go, but she recognized the dead look in Moro's eyes as he told her he was going anyways. It was the same look she had in her eyes now.

Aubi waded into the water, not caring that the training wraps she was wearing as clothes were getting wet. They were dark enough that they wouldn't be see-through, so she didn't mind much. When she was waist deep, she stopped to watch the sunset. She took an Earthbending stance and raised a small bath to just under the water's surface so she could go further into the water without having to swim. She followed the path and sat down on the edge, her feet dangling deeper into the water.

She attempted to ignore the pain of her body falling into hypothermia as it got colder out, but finally it was too much to handle, and she headed back into the town. As she neared the main road, she noticed something wrong. The town was lit up, which was unusual after dark unless there was a celebration.

As she neared the village, her curiosity turned to horror. It wasn't a celebration.

"Firebenders!" Someone was yelling, running past her and into the small forrest.

Rage filled Aubi and she began to run into town. Sure enough, Firebenders were stripping the town down. But they weren't soldiers, they weren't wearing typical Firebending uniforms. They were dressed in thin armor, similar to the uniforms that the Earthbenders wore to keep them light on their feet during battle.

Aubi ran into her uncle's house and into the small bedroom she and Moro had shared, which was now her own. In it was the large hunk of metal she kept specifically for occasions like this. She threw her arms out and gestured the metal towards herself, and it formed thin armor around her torso and legs.

She headed back out to the village, which was now abandoned. When the people of Torona were frightened, they always headed into the forests to keep cover.

The Firebenders were looking for something. Or someone. They were going through all the houses, throwing people's belongings out into the streets. One emerged from the house next to her and called out to someone. "Sir, he's not in here!"

_He_? Who were they looking for?

"Leave!" Aubi yelled, attracting the attention of several Firebenders.

They laughed. "Sir, look at the little girl, standing up for her village!"

The man they were talking to stepped forward. He was no older than sixteen or seventeen, with his long hair pulled back into a ponytail and a large scar on the left side of his face. Aubi took a step back in horror. This was the Firelord's son, Prince Zuko. It clicked in her brain, he was looking for the Avatar.

She stepped forward. "The Avatar isn't here," she said, glaring at him.

Zuko lit a flame in his hand, holding it like a blade. "Get out of the way, girl," he growled, heading towards Eli's house.

Oh, how she hated Firebenders. Aubi stepped forward to block him. "Leave my home alone," she demanded.

One of the Firebenders behind Zuko threw a particularly heavy flame at her, and she raised the ground underneath him, throwing off his aim. The fire missed, flying far above her head.

"An Earthbender in Torona," one of the soldiers laughed. "Who would've guessed?" Torona was a bender-less village for the most part. But every once in a while, an Earthbender or two would pop up. Aubi's whole family had been Earthbenders.

"Leave," she repeated, taking the most threatening stance she could muster, despite the fear of the Firebenders.

The soldiers nearly doubled over, laughing so hard. The tiny girl wasn't menacing in the slightest bit. She looked more like a doll than a soldier. They weren't afraid of her, or anybody else in the village!

Aubi shrugged. "Alright then, your funeral," she said with a smile, cracking her knuckles.

Zuko pointed at her, and one of the soldiers ran forward, engaging her in hand-to-hand combat. But before he reached her, she bent the ankles of her metal gear off her and the metal formed around his wrists like cuffs, hitting him hard and knocking him to the ground.

The Firebenders were shocked. She had just bent metal! The girl laughed shortly. "Well?" she asked. "Next?"

Another soldier rushed at her, throwing a punch once she'd reached her. She ducked and it missed her head by an inch, and she hit him hard in the stomach with her elbow. He hunched over, gasping, and she took the opportunity to bend the ground under his feet. It threw him a few feet into the air, and he fell back down, unconscious as he hit the ground.

Aubi made eye contact with the Fire Prince again. But this time, instead of just one soldier rushing her, it was all of them. "Hey, no fair!" she yelled, attempting to keep all of them at bay. "Six on one isn't a fair fight!"

"Who said the Fire Nation fights fair?" The prince let out a sour laugh. "We're taking her with us, men. Anybody with unique abilities like this will gain favor with my father."

It wasn't much of a fight. Within a few moments Aubi was in shackles, a particularly nasty bruise forming on her right cheekbone from being punched in the face, and she had an awful burn on her bare upper arm. The Firebenders, after burning down nearly all of the village, dragged her back to their ship on the opposite side of the island.

As they brought her up the walkway to the ship, Aubi's vision began to blur. "Hey," she muttered to the soldier holding her arm. "Something isn't right."

The soldier ignored her and roughly shoved her forward onto the deck of the ship, where she immediately lost consciousness and hit the metal floor.

The little girl was out like a light, lying limp on the deck. The soldier scrambled to pick her back up before the Prince saw, but it was no use.

"Hey, what's going on over there?" Zuko asked, storming back to the soldier with the girl. "What's wrong with her?"

The soldier scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know, sir, she just fell over!"

Zuko nudged the girl with his toe. "Wake up!" He yelled, nudging her a bit harder, but she didn't stir. He sighed heavily, placing a hand to his head. "Put her in one of the cells below deck, she'll be fine."

The soldiers lifted her by her arms and took her below deck.

* * *

><p>When Aubi woke, she was in a small cell. It took a moment for everything to come back to her. The Firebenders, the fight, Prince Zuko...<p>

She sat up quickly, which caused all the blood to rush to her head. She wobbled for a moment and then laid back down. Her face was no longer numb, and was throbbing. Placing a hand to her cheek, she curled up into a ball.

"Is it hurting?" A voice from the corner made her jump.

Aubi backed up to the back of the cell, her back squished up against the bars.

"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you." The man stepped forward. He was old, very old. And big. And holding a cup of something. "My name is Iroh." He stuck a hand through the bars.

Aubi cautiously took it. "I'm Aubi," she said quietly.

"How did you come to be on the ship?" Iroh asked, keeping his distance. The girl was definitely jumpy, and seemed more than a little alarmed by his presence.

Her face darkened, and turned to a scowl. "The stupid Fire Prince attacked my village," she growled.

"Ah, I am sorry about my nephew," Iroh said, shaking his head. "He does not always think of others first. But, forgive me, that doesn't explain to me why he brought you to the ship."

Aubi shrugged, not really wanting to tell the Firebender about her..um..special ability. "I don't know," she lied.

Iroh could tell she wanted to be left alone, so he set down the small cup of tea for her. "I doubt they've given you something to drink yet, so here." He left it outside the bars and left the room.

She reached forward and snatched the tea, downing it all. She sighed and leaned against the bars, trying to think of a way out. She wasn't tiny enough to fit between the bars, and she definitely didn't have the key.

She sat up quickly, a realization forming in her head. The bars were made out of metal! Laughing to herself, she put a hand to her forehead. How stupid could the Firebenders really be? Standing up slowly, she braced herself and put her hands on the bars. Focusing, she moved them with ease, bending the bars apart just enough for her to squeeze through. She yanked open the door and headed out into the hall.

The entire ship was made of metal! This would be incredibly easy to get out of, she was surrounded by her own element. Aubi headed down the hall, not knowing exactly where she was going. Just her luck, she managed to find the door to the deck. As she was opening it, the ship was suddenly hit by something, knocking her against the wall.

"Ow," she muttered, rubbing her head. She threw open the door to the deck, and found all the Firebenders in fighting stances, facing the water.

The ship was being attacked by...other Fire Nation ships? The Banished Prince's ship had unknowingly wandered into Fire Nation waters, where they weren't allowed, and were now being attacked. Firebenders were throwing fire from the other ships.

"Hey!" One of the soldiers shouted, noticing Aubi. "The prisoner's escaping!"

Things couldn't get any worse for Zuko. His ship was under attack, his crew was angry with him, his Uncle was angry because that stupid girl got hurt, and that stupid girl was now roaming free around his ship.

Aubi, on the other hand, was torn. On the one hand, she could run away now. On the other, she was miles away from any land, and running away would mean having to swim all that way. So she had no choice but to protect the ship she was already on.

Running past the Firebenders, she jumped up onto the railing of the ship, bracing her feet up on the ledge. The ships were close enough that she could bend them. She threw her open hands out towards the two attacking ships sand squeezed her hands shut. The front of the ships began to crumple into one large steel-toe end. The ships were now weighed down and the front ends began to slowly sink.

"Let's get the hell out of here!" She yelled behind her to the stunned soldiers.

* * *

><p><strong>I can't even describe how much I love Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra. If you've read any of my other stories, I promise I'm not giving up on them. I get in different moods to write different things, and I usually switch back and forth. It was like 4 in the morning when I wrote this, so I apologize if you don't like it! Also, the OC's name is pronounced Aubi (Oh-bee).<strong>


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